The role of philosophy of education in the initial teacher training: tensions between the discourse and the Praxis

This paper examines the role of the teaching of the philosophy of education in the initial teacher training, taking as a starting point the tension that can be noted between, on the one hand, the discourse of most of the faculties in charge to prepare teachers, who rescue the need to train critical and reflective teachers, and, on the other hand, the praxis of teacher training that seems to have a markedly technical accent. Given this scenario, it is argued to show (1) that the philosophy of education is relevant in the context of initial teacher training, (2) far from playing a purely complementary role in such training, it must play a fundamental role that lets it organize the diverse knowledge and competences of a teacher, and (3) that it is useless to defend the fundamental value of the philosophy of education, if it is not understood as such by prospective teachers, so that it is crucial to think carefully about the contents, methodologies and appropriate moments to impart this subject.